German relay team wins medal – despite anger and tears

The women’s relay took place at the end of the weekend at the Biathlon World Championships. However, the German team had many problems – and still won precious metal.

The German team experienced its first shock on Saturday morning before the women’s relay at the Biathlon World Cup. Franziska Preuß, the experienced final runner who was quick on the course, was eliminated (you can read more about that here). Sophie Schneider took her place.

However, the German women around Vanessa Voigt had big problems and still won a medal in the end – it was bronze. Hettich-Walz summed up after the relay race: “I’m just extremely disappointed with what happened on the track. I didn’t make it one meter. I’m extremely sorry for the whole team. I didn’t have the best day. I don’t have one words.” Vanessa Voigt cried bitter tears after her run.

But: Schneider, who came for Preuß, kept her nerve as the final runner and secured third place. Victory went to France (1:15.00.8) ahead of Sweden (+38.30) and Germany (+1:14.20).

Before the relay, German biathlon sports director Felix Bitterling said: “It remains challenging.” Also because the track conditions were not good. Janina Hettich-Walz was the first runner to take to the track. At the beginning she struggled to keep up with Lou Jeanmonnot at the front. The Frenchwoman hit all the targets in the prone position and pulled away from the Swede Anna Magnusson. Hettich-Walz also made no mistakes and shot quickly. She kept her pace on the course and arrived at the standing stop in fourth place.

Even after the second shooting, France pulled away. However, Hettich-Walz shot so quickly and flawlessly that she took third position behind Norway. Magnussen had to reload twice and then chased the German. But Hettich-Walz ran out of steam towards the end – she handed over to Selina Grotian in sixth place.

The order at this point: France ahead of Norway, Estonia, Sweden, Czech Republic and Germany. Then it was time for shooting again: Frenchwoman Sophie Chauveau had to go into the penalty loop. The other nations also had a hard time. Grotian had to reload twice. Estonia led ahead of Sweden and Norway. Germany fell back to ninth place.

There were also some reloaders from different nations in the standing attack. Grotian made no mistakes and was able to catapult himself forward. She started the course in third place behind Estonia and Austria. France fell back to ninth place. Grotian handed over to Vanessa Voigt in third place.

Grotian said afterwards on ZDF: “It’s difficult to compete at the front. I didn’t think too much. The snow was stickier than last week.” It was also dark with dirt. This in turn made the route slower.

When Voigt arrived at the shooting range, Sweden and Estonia had already finished. They remained error-free. The German started with a miss. After that, however, she had no more problems and returned to the track in fifth place.

In the standing position, Sweden and France dominated despite missing shots. France managed to take the lead again through Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. As in the prone position, Voigt started with a mistake. However, the sparer was stuck and so she retained her fifth place. Voigt handed over to Sophia Schneider in fifth place, almost 52 seconds behind leaders France.

Voigt burst into tears at the finish and kept shaking his head. Meanwhile, Schneider had to reload once while lying prone and then found himself in fourth place behind France, Sweden and Estonia. Schneider presented himself strongly on the route.

In the last shooting, France needed three spare rounds from Julia Simon and still took the lead. Sweden had to go into the penalty loop. Schneider also had to reload twice. But she kept her nerve and secured third place. Voigt said after the relay on ZDF: “The race was from high to low. Hats off to Sophia. It was a very hard-fought medal.”